Cesarean births in Spain (2010-2018)

Abstract

Introduction: in the past two decades, cesarean rates have been increasing both globally and in Europe. When clearly indicated, cesareans save lives; however, unnecessary cesareans are potentially unsafe for mother and child. Data shows a great percentage of cesarean births in Spain and it is therefore necessary to study its spatiotemporal distribution.

Method: this was a population-based cross-sectional study that used the Birth Statistics Bulletin and included all births in Spain from 2010 to 2018. It described the data using different variables such as maternal age, day of birth or autonomous community of birth.

Results: a total of 3,863,363 births were included in this study. The cesarean rate in Spain from 2010 to 2018 was 26.9%. There was a modest decline in the cesarean rate in 2017 and 2018. Cesareans were more frequent in women over 40 who gave birth during a weekday in Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Cataluña and Melilla. 

Conclusions: there is great variability in cesarean rates between different autonomies. Other contributing variability factors are maternal age or day of birth. The differences in cesarean rates suggest a lack of common clinical criteria. To identify the underlying causes, further studies are necessary. This would provide useful information for decision-making and policy changes.